Headlines for 03-19-08

A Palestinian youth killed in Khan Younis A Palestinian youth from the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis has been reportedly shot dead by unknown assailants, medical sources said.



Charging ethnic discrimination, rights group challenges Israel's vaunted airport security Israeli Jews and Arabs get dramatically different treatment when boarding Israeli planes, as anyone who's ever stood in line at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport has seen.


Israeli Military demolishes 11 Structures in the Southern Hebron Hills On the morning of 19 March, the Israeli military
demolished 11 structures in the agricultural villages of Qawawis,
Imneizil, Ad Deirat and Umm Lasafa. Nine of the structures demolished were
homes and two were livestock enclosures.


Israel eases firing regulations at Jerusalem barrier demos Under the new regulations, snipers may fire at the legs of adults tagged as "key instigators," according to the mass-selling Maariv daily. Firing on Israeli and foreign citizens remains banned. As to that last sentence: a big joke. The IDF recently shot two foreign nationals in as many weeks. Also, Tom Hurndall comes to mind. The IDF has always fired with 'ease' at protestors, foreign nationals, Palestinian children, etc, etc etc.


Jordan paper sees Merkel "destroying" Germany's balanced policy A Jordanian newspaper on Wednesday expressed 'disappointment' over the current visit to Israel by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and accused her of 'destroying' the even- handed policy Germany has so far pursued towards the Middle East.


Israeli army detains 14 Palestinians in W. Bank, Gaza


John McCain: Israel's enemies threaten us all McCain,you're invited to stay in Israel, whom you'd be better apt to serve. Americans need leaders who aren't going to take us into (more) wars with nations that don't threaten the AMERICAN national interest. Thanks.


Germany donates police cars to Palestinians German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday handed over the first two of 20 new police vehicles promised to the Palestinian Authority.


Israelis demolish Palestinian homes in West Bank Israeli bulldozers, backed by armed troops, have destroyed five homes in an Israeli-controlled section of the West Bank.
The Israeli military said the houses were demolished because they had been built without construction permits. Israeli human rights groups say few building applications are ever granted. That forces Palestinians to build without approval.



McCain Backs Israeli Reprisals in Gaza "That is not a way for people to live," McCain said. "No nation in the world can be attacked incessantly and have its population killed and intimidated without responding. That's one of the first obligations of government, to provide security for its citizens." On that the Palestinians agree. Israel has terrorized them for decades - with US taxpayer money and US weaponry. Israeli 'reprisals' include the wanton reckless killing of women and children - including babies.


Hamas vows to share Gaza if Haniya reinstated PM


Merkel made weighty pledge to Israel: German critics "Germany must be careful not to make (US President George W.) Bush's cardinal mistake and be biased in the peace process," the centre-left Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily wrote......"Merkel should speak openly about this. She must explain how far Germany would be prepared to go (and why) to secure Israel's existence." Too late.


Jerusalem's Latin patriarch retires at 75 The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah was preparing to retire on Wednesday after slamming the "chain of inhumane and futile violence" between Israel and the Palestinians.


IRAQ: Palestinian refugees renew appeal for protection


US grants 150 million dollars to Palestinian Authority The funds are the first installment of 555 million dollars pledged at a donors' conference in Paris late last year intended to bolster the Palestinian Authority and underpin recently revived peace talks.


Israeli settlers start new settlement post near Bethlehem


Qurei rejects Olmert's statements on settlements expansion


Yesha rabbinical council chief: Don't rent houses to Arabs Recently, several rabbis led by Rabbi Lior have issued a precedent setting halakhic ruling that Israel must shoot civilian populations in areas from whence attacks on Jewish communities originate.


Egypt to take over supplying Gaza power in draft deal Two weeks ago, he said the Egyptian plan would be funded by the Saudi Islamic Development Bank. Tenders will be issued over the next few days


Jews from Arab lands address U.N. A group representing Jewish refugees from Arab lands testified before the U.N. Human Rights Council.



Arab MK to chief rabbis: Slam rabbinic calls to harm Arabs


Is the Pentagon Policy Shop Funding Likudist Fronts? Another Prague attendee who was identified on the Participants List as PF?s ?director? was Steven Schneier. As I pointed out last June, Schneier was identified by a 1999 Jewish Week investigative article entitled ?Likud?s Tangled Charity Web? as a key U.S. fund-raiser for and top adviser to former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. His job was apparently to funnel campaign contributions from Likud?s supporters in the U.S....... you may ask, why is the Pentagon policy office awarding a no-bid contract to an organization whose institutional relationships and affiliations appear so opposed to official U.S. policy and which is so utterly lacking in transparency? And how is that such clearly pro-Likud individuals as Cross and Gedmin (not to mention the new Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, James Glassman who, like Gedmin, is an AEI alumnus) are put in charge of U.S. public-diplomacy efforts in Europe, let alone the Middle East? How does this happen?


McCain mistaken on Iran and al-Qaida McCain declined to comment on whether he could back an eventual decision to strike Iran if Tehran doesn't cease its nuclear activities. In response to a question about possible U.S. strikes against Tehran, McCain only said: "At the end of the day, we cannot afford having a nuclear-armed Iran."



Hebron The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb. Palestinian families tell us that under the occupation they have lost much more than just their freedom. Many live with the fear of home invasions or even the demolition of their homes by bulldozers. The Palestinians have been robbed of their security and dignity.


Israel-Palestine dispute moves on to Facebook Jewish settlers living inside the occupied Palestinian West Bank complained when they found their addresses identified them as living in Palestine, rather than Israel. More than 400,000 people live in settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, all of which are widely considered illegal under international law.....For some this is a battle that is still being fought. In a post on her group's discussion page Lerman wrote: "What I hope even more is that people keep on fighting against mentioning these towns in Palestine. That's something that doesn't exist and will never exist."



Someone needs to inform Lerman that the Holy Land has been referred to as Palestine for as far back as the New York Times archives reach (1850s), and something tells me - much further than that. The grand delusion that 'Palestine never existed' is just that - a delusion - propagated by Israeli propagandists.


Do not even compare Israel to America A flashback to a post from one of my old blogs.


Swiss-Iranian gas deal roils Israel "Switzerland and the entire international community are aware of the danger posed by Iran," the statement said. "Israel expects Switzerland to join the international effort in this matter."


Thirteenth Station:


Neturei Karta rabbi warns east J'lem Arabs of 'extremist' attacks n the ad published on the front page of the London-based Al-Hayat, Rabbi Israel Hirsch of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta group said he wanted to protect Arabs.


Russian FM holds Mideast talks in Syria


Sderot: Israel's 9/11? Um, let's see. On Sept. 11, 2001, 3,000 people were killed. In the last year, two people in Sderot have been killed by rocket fire from Gaza



McCain promotes Mideast peace talks but avoids sit-down with Palestinians The only thing not on McCain's agenda was a meeting with the Palestinian leaders who are central to the peace process. The most that McCain was willing to offer was a courtesy phone call to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas .


Arkansas teacher joins anti-war protest "He has been very involved in human rights and justice," Donnelly said. "He spent time in Israel and came away with a lot of affection for the Palestinian people who were suffering a lot."


BD140,000 for Palestinians A CHARITY event in Bahrain raised around BD140,000 in a single night to help the besieged Palestinian people, organisers confirmed yesterday. British politician George Galloway was the star of Monday's Palestine Support Society dinner and auction, which attracted more than 500 people.


Abbas fires Palestinian official in mobile smuggling case Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday fired one of his advisers after Israel seized 2,000 mobile phones in his car returning from Jordan, a Palestinian official said.


Footage shows hikers' killers in jail In a bid to disprove reports that two Palestinians who murdered two Israel hikers in December had escaped from prison, the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday allowed a Channel 10 crew to visit the two in their jail cell in Hebron.


Facebook settles Arab-Israeli conflict Note to Tony Blair: Facebook may have found the answer to territorial disputes the world over. Encourage people to do all their interaction online, and they can call the little patch of dirt on which they subsist what the hell they like. "You say Palestine, I say Israel, let's call the whole thing off..." Somebody needs to remind Facebook of the legal status of Israeli settlements in the PALESTINIAN Territories.


Rudd avoids protesters at Jewish fund-raiser Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd addressed a Jewish fund-raiser amid pro-Palestinian protests. About 50 protesters demonstrated Tuesday night outside a major United Israel Appeal fund-raiser in Melbourne.



Jewish fund award to UWO president creates controversy Critics on campus, including three dozen faculty members, have petitioned Davenport to reject the award because they say the JNF has been a party to dispossessing Arabs from their land. The JNF controls large land tracts in Israel and practises discrimination, they claim.


Palestinian refugees in the West Bank protest against reduced UN aid


Obama's speech: Does empathy for the other have its limits? Obama and his defenders, including the Jews who know him best and longest, have a consistent response: He has an unwavering commitment to defending Israel against forces dedicated to its destruction, combined with the ability to improve America's international image in a way that will ultimately improve Israel's standing in the world and its security.


In Israel visit, McCain shows his pro-Israel credentials Sounding a note of commonality and understanding with his Israeli hosts, McCain said that Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah were threats not only to Israel, but to America as well.


Arab Americans press on Israel entry Nearly 30 Arab-American groups asked Condoleezza Rice to press Israel to lift restrictions on the entry of Arab Americans.



U.S. Air Force chief visits Israel During his four-day trip, Moseley met with the top Israeli brass as well as Defense Minister Ehud Barak.


ELCA Bishops Learn About Christian Zionism, Discuss Other Matters Christian Zionism is a "politically mobilized strand of Christian fundamentalism" committed to preserving Jewish control over all of historic Palestine, Smith said. The movement places the State of Israel, and often the United States, "at the center of God's purposes for the end of the age," he told the bishops. Biblical references in the books of Joel and Genesis are used to justify the movement's claims, Smith said.